Player of the month by ItalianOptic 2020/21

The Player of the month is the initiative in collaboration with ItalianOptic which Atalanta dedicates to their fans who are invited to vote for the best Atalanta player of the month through the poll on the socials accounts.
At the end of the first round of voting, the two players that have received the most likes, compete for the title of the Player of the month.

THE MONTH OF MARCH
The matches to considerate for the poll in March 2021 are the following:

1. 03.03 Serie A matchday 25: Atalanta-Crotone
2. 08.03 Serie A matchday 26: Inter-Atalanta
3. 12.02 Serie A matchday 27: Atalanta-Spezia
4. 16.03 Champions League round of 16 second leg: Real Madrid-Atalanta
5. 21.02 Serie A matchday 28: Hellas Verona-Atalanta

THE MONTH OF FEBRUARY
The matches to considerate for the poll in February 2021 are the following:

1. 03.02 Coppa Italia, Napoli 0-0 Atalanta
2. 06.02 Serie A TIM, Atalanta 3-3 Torino
3. 10.02 Coppa Italia, Atalanta 3-1 Napoli
4. 14.02 Serie A TIM, Cagliari 0-1 Atalanta
5. 21.02 Serie A TIM, Atalanta 4-2 Napoli
6. 24.02 UEFA Champions League, Atalanta 0-1 Real Madrid
7. 28.02 Serie A TIM, Sampdoria 0-2 Atalanta

January – Aleksey Miranchuk

In the fourth edition of the initiative in collaboration with ItalianOptic, Aleksey Miranchuk won over Cristian Romero in the head-to-head battle for the Player of the Month for January.

Miranchuk is the fourth winner of this contest (besides Zapata, Gosens and Muriel), which shows the decisiveness and the constant support of the whole team during all the season. Number 59 of the Nerazzurri has been on the pitch for 300′ in January. He demonstrated himself as a leader, in particular in the Coppa Italia, scoring two decisive goals in the Round of 16 and the quarter-final. The first goal was a brilliant left-foot volley which broke the deadlock against Cagliari. He scored the second one against Lazio, making it 3-2 and sealing the victory for Atalanta.

We certainly have to mention Cuti Romero, the key player of the sensational performances: one of them was that in the match at the Meazza Stadium against Milan (a goal and an assist).

The prize giving

December – Luis Muriel

After the first round of voting, the forward Luis Muriel and the goalkeeper Pierluigi Gollini were the finalists of the Player of the Month by ItalianOptic for the month of December. Two finalists came out of this round who had a head-to-head battle through another poll on our Facebook, Twitter and Instagram official channels. The winner is Luis Muriel while the great goalkeeper of the Nerazzurri, who pulled off some divine saves, as well as decisive ones, took second place for few votes.

In the month of December ‘Lucho’ – this is the name by which he is called by his teammates – played 6 matches for a total of 198 minutes on the pitch… during which he gave a show. He scored two goals after coming off the bench, one of them was scored during the decider at the Johan Cruijff Arena in Amsterdam against Ajax, earning in this way the win and the qualification for the Champions League last 16.
Muriel is the third different winner of this contest after Zapata and Gosens. He then scored his seventh double in the Nerazzurri shirt in the 2-2 draw at the Dall’Ara against Bologna.

The prize giving

November – Robin Gosens

Cuti Romero and Robin Gosens were the finalists of the Player of the Month by ItalianOptic for the month of November. The contest between the two was very balanced and the German wing-back won, but an honourable mention is also for Cuti, who in his first year with the Nerazzurri is already becoming an idol of the fans.

Despite only two games played out of five due to a couple of injuries that forced him out earlier this month and during the Atalanta-Verona match, Gosens still managed to leave an important mark both on the pitch and in the heart of the Atalanta fans.

After an excellent performance coming back from an injury against Spezia, a game in which Robin had also scored, but his goal was then disallowed after a VAR review due to Zapata being offside, the German was also decisive in the feat at Anfield. His goal doubled the lead of the Nerazzurri and sealed the 0-2 win which will remain in the annals of the Atalanta history.

The prize giving

September/October – Duván Zapata

The midfielder Remo Freuler and the forward Duván Zapata were the first two finalists of the Player of the Month by ItalianOptic for September and October. The final, which saw a lot of votes on the official social accounts of the Club, was won by the Colombian.

An absolutely deserved award for our number 91, who was one of the protagonists of the first two months of the season. Duván took part in all the eight games played by the Nerazzurri team for a total of 537 minutes and he also scored 5 goals (3 in the Champions League and 2 in Serie A) and provided 4 assists (equally divided between the UCL and the league).

The prize-giving